N.Y. issues draft rules for medical marijuana program

State releases early draft of regulations that limits access of drug to medical uses

By Matthew Hamilton and Claire Hughes

Updated 10:28 pm, Thursday, December 18, 2014

Albany

The state released draft regulations on Thursday for its medical marijuana program, taking a key step toward creating a system in which patients with serious, painful illnesses will be able to use pot under doctors' orders.

The regulations reflect an attempt to balance the need to alleviate suffering with the responsibility to ensure that the drug is not diverted for non-medical uses, state officials said.

Adopting the regulations would open up the process for organizations to compete to become one of five businesses allowed to grow and dispense marijuana. The program, approved in June, is expected to be operational in 2016.

The draft rules call for doctors and pharmacists to register with the state to prescribe and dispense marijuana. When purchasing marijuana, patients will need identification that shows are certified by a registered doctor to be treated with the drug.

Each patient may also have up to two designated caregivers buy marijuana for him. Caregivers must also carry identification and will not be able to receive payment for the purchases.

In keeping with Cuomo's wishes, medical marijuana will not be available in a smokeable form. The state Health Commissioner must approve other forms for delivery, such as vaporization and pills. "Inhaled vaporized marijuana is both more effective and preferred by patients than smoked marijuana," said Terence O'Leary, deputy secretary for public safety.

Registered businesses will at first be allowed to produce up to five strains of medical marijuana, and those will be subject to independent testing to ensure consistency in chemical content.

Some advocates have expressed concern that New York's regulations will be excessively restrictive. "You don't want a situation where patients don't get access or industry groups are unwilling to operate because of the narrowness of the regulatory environment," said Gabriel Sayegh of the Drug Policy Alliance.

Sayegh's group was pleased, however, that the regulations include assistance for low-income people. The drug is not expected to be covered by private insurance companies, O'Leary said.

Companies will have to provide the state Health Department with blueprints of every aspect of their proposed operations — from infrastructure to projected revenue — when they apply to launch dispensaries. Five registered organizations will be selected and each will be allowed to operate up to four dispensaries. Those organizations will be located based on geographic and patient need, officials said. The regulations will go up for a 45-day public comment period in January.

Medical marijuana advocates want implementation stepped up. But state officials decided against that approach because the potential for legal challenges.